Say this city has ten million souls,
Some are living in mansions, some are living in holes:
Yet there's no place for us, my dear, yet there's no place for us.
Once we had a country and we thought it fair,
Look in the atlas and you'll find it there:
We cannot go there now, my dear, we cannot go there now.
In the village churchyard there grows an old yew,
Every spring it blossoms anew:
Old passports can't do that, my dear, old passports can't do that.
The consul banged the table and said,
"If you've got no passport you're officially dead":
But we are still alive, my dear, but we are still alive.
Went to a committee; they offered me a chair;
Asked me politely to return next year:
But where shall we go to-day, my dear, but where shall we go to-day?
Came to a public meeting; the speaker got up and said;
"If we let them in, they will steal our daily bread":
He was talking of you and me, my dear, he was talking of you and me.
Thought I heard the thunder rumbling in the sky;
It was Hitler over Europe, saying, "They must die":
O we were in his mind, my dear, O we were in his mind.
Saw a poodle in a jacket fastened with a pin,
Saw a door opened and a cat let in:
But they weren't German Jews, my dear, but they weren't German Jews.
Went down the harbour and stood upon the quay,
Saw the fish swimming as if they were free:
Only ten feet away, my dear, only ten feet away.
Walked through a wood, saw the birds in the trees;
They had no politicians and sang at their ease:
They weren't the human race, my dear, they weren't the human race.
Dreamed I saw a building with a thousand floors,
A thousand windows and a thousand doors:
Not one of them was ours, my dear, not one of them was ours.
Stood on a great plain in the falling snow;
Ten thousand soldiers marched to and fro:
Looking for you and me, my dear, looking for you and me.
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Comments
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From guest Francesca (contact)
It reflects a very desolate and real view of the actualities of World war two. It is sad to think that it one only on sect targeted at and this poem truly brings out the inner turmoil faced by such people. The comparision to the cat was most touching because it shows that we cannot care for our own species as much as we do for others. It is a very revolting but eye- opening idea. I would recommend it to everyone. This poem has the power to change as it has definitely changed my attitude torwards war and such things. -
george
From guest george (contact)
hi to all, my name is geaorge and i am 7 years old, the reason that i like this poem is because it makes me think, it makes me think about all of the racism and discrimination there was in the past and the present, although it was alot worse in the past with all the random beatings and abuse given to someone just because they are black in racial discrimination, or even in Hitlers' bursts, you could have been killed for not having blonde hair and blue eyes, there is still abuse given to those that are different from us, be they black, old or crippled in someway, some choose to abuse them, many times i have heard the phrase: "Why don't those niggers go back to their own country", which for sometime i partly agreed with even though i am definatly not racist, when i read this poem it opened my eyes as it should yours in that you must think of how bad the conditions must be from wherever they came from to have come on a agonising journey with the risk of your own baby dying, and also to withstand the abuse they obtain during their stay not to go back. if you have read this i thankyou, and i would like to encourage a deeper look into the lives of immigrants. -
W.H. Auden's "Refugee"
From guest Suseann
From Suseann;
Obviously written at a time in history when pregidous against the Jewish people was high on everyone's minds.The author laments of travels in efforts to stave of from those bent on their destruction and those in fear of being over run in taking them in."A people without a country". This well versed piece has described the lost lonely worries of nowhere to run.And mankind's reluctance in harboring of them. No compassions could be found,nor commonality.Very sad. And a dated era classic . -
From guest Emma Radford (contact)
I am in year 8 and we are currently doing a performance about refugees in drama and we including reading this poem it contains much needed to be said words and is extremlly compasionate -
From guest kim (contact)
This poem is my favourite poem out of all the anthology poetry we are studying at school in year 11. it reveals the awful truth of rejection and the painful experiences that occured for the people. As mermaid7 stated- genocide is seen in this poem- it has shown some of my fellow students what power one could have to do something as unmentionable as that. It must have been awful (that being an incredible understatement) in those times and to write something as meaningful as that just leaves me fascinated. I personally love writing poetry myself and I think we should have poems like this to look back on to reflect just how beautiful poetry can be. More schools should be looking at poetry like this- how extreme cases can be. No matter how cruel this poem seems- it does open your eyes at how peaceful life is at present despite war, but genocide is just the worst thing, which many dont realise currently... -
Refugee Blues
From guest Rob Gorseling (contact)
Eindelijk gevonden !! In 1966 dit gedicht voorgedragen tijdens mijn MULO examen, 20 jaar na de oorlog ! Nu 40 jaar later en nog steeds even actueel. Om tranen in de ogen van te krijgen. -
10/10
My favourite poem ever...I have a passion for holocaust poems, and this is my ultimate favourite, it's even my favourite on my author profile...I have a book of holocaust poetry in, and I think every child should read it...Make them think twice... -
Bitter truth. This would be a great poem to use with Holocaust studies, and with an extension with genocide (i.e. Hotel Rwanda; Sudan....) and with social ills. Exclusion is a powerful topic.
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- Refugee Blues by W H Auden, with 1 responses
